Maurice Atwood
Head Coach
Career Record: 431-31 (336-11 at Parkland)
Maurice Atwood was named
as the 8th Head Coach in Parkland wrestling history in May of 2004.
He was faced with the challenge of taking over a program with no returning
state qualifiers, and only 13 returning participants. Three years later, the
Mustangs won their first State Dual Championship since 1996 and the programs
first outright State Tournament Championship.
His first year at
Parkland (2004-05) saw the team finish with a 28-8 record, and six state
qualifiers. The 28 dual wins surpassed the previous mark for most in school
history. The team would fall just short of winning the conference championship
and lost in the first round of State Duals to eventual Champion Orange.
The 2005-06 season, Coach
Atwood's second at Parkland, saw the team post a 42-3 record which included a
win over the eventual 3A State Dual Champion Morehead Panthers before losing to
Ragsdale in the 2nd round of the State Dual playoffs. The season
also saw Bryan Young, a second year wrestler, win the 3A 275 Lbs. State
Championship. Young was one of five state qualifiers for Parkland, four of
which placed giving Parkland their first top 5 finish in the State Tournament
since 1998.
Coach Atwood's third
season, 2006-07, saw Parkland regain status as one of North Carolina’s elite
programs. The team went 46-0 en route to winning the 3A State Dual
Championship, as well as winning the 3A State Tournament Championship on the
strength of seven out of eight state qualifiers placing. The program also broke
the National Records for Points Scored in a Season and Pins in a Season.
Parklands 2007-08 season
was one that will go down in North Carolina history. The team again went
undefeated, posting a 44-0 record, en route to winning their second consecutive
3A State Dual & State Tournament Championships. The story though is the
manner in which they did it. The Mustangs broke ten state records and tied two
others. As well as re-breaking their own National Records for Points Scored in
a Season and Pins in a Season, this time also breaking the National Record for
Average Margin of Victory in Dual Meets. The team sent a State Record 13
wrestlers to the State Tournament, all 13 of which placed including five who
won individual State Championships. Hints of what type of season were in store
for Parkland were seen as early as the pre-season when Parkland would have four
placers at the NHSCA Summer National Open, to include second year wrestler DeSean Grimes-Hines taking first place in the middle school
170 pound division.
The 2008-09 season began
with the rumor of Parkland’s demise since their record-breaking season the year
before had been accomplished with 11 seniors in the line-up. However, those
rumors soon proved false as Parkland become the first program in North Carolina
to win both the State Dual Championship and the State Tournament Championship
three straight years. Along the way they posted a 43-0 dual record, took nine
wrestlers to the State Tournament, seven of which placed, five of which made it
to the Championship Finals, and three of which won State Championships. Among
the placers was Junior Marcus Cain who would go on to place sixth a few weeks
later at Junior Nationals.
Parkland headed into the
2009-10 season prepared to make the jump to 4A with a 133 dual win-streak,
which by early December became the longest streak in state history surpassing
the previous record of 140 set by Boone Appalachian in the 1960's. During the
pre-season, Senior Marcus Cain gained attention by finishing sixth at the
prestigious Super 32. The program would continue to run up dual victories,
finishing the dual portion of the season with a 38-14 victory over defending 4A
State Champion Cary to claim the 4A State Dual Championship and run the
win-streak to 175, which is the fourth longest documented streak in National
history. The team then made history yet again by qualifying all fourteen
wrestlers for states, ten of which would place at states to include three who
would claim first, en route to Parkland winning the 4A State Tournament
Championship.
The 2010-11 season saw
Parkland continue their dual win-streak, running it to 216 which is the 3rd
longest streak in National History. Along the way, Parkland defeated New Bern
52-12 to become the first program in NCHSAA history to win five consecutive
state dual titles. They then qualified ten wrestlers for the 4A State Tournament,
six of which would place to include three more individual state champions, on
their way to winning the 4A State Tournament. This marked the first time in
NCHSAA history that a program had won the State Duals and the State Tournament
in five consecutive years. At Senior Nationals, Antwan
Davis would become the first Parkland wrestler to advance to the Championship
Finals and finish second. Meanwhile, Parkland Alum Marcus Cain, while wrestling
for Northfield Mount Hermon Prep School, won the Prep
National Champion at 152 pounds.
The 2010-11 school year
also saw Coach Atwood recognized as an outstanding teacher when he was named
Parkland High Schools Teacher of the Year.
During the 2011-12
season, Parkland continued their dual win-streak. Running the total to 266
which is now the 2nd longest streak in National History. The Mustangs defeated Pinecrest 36-25 to win their sixth straight NCHSAA State
Dual Championship. Parkland then won the 4A Mid-West regional and sent nine
wrestlers to the 4A State Tournament. At the state tournament, four Parkland
wrestlers advanced to the state finals with two winning individual state
championships while the other two finished as runners-up. Overall, Parkland saw
their quest for a sixth straight state tournament title fall short when they
finished third in the team race. The year was capped off in Virginia Beach at
NHSCA Senior & Sophomore Nationals where only Drew Turner & Phazon Roddy would be able to
compete due to exams falling the same week. Turner would take 5th and earn
All-American honors in Sophomore Nationals, while Roddy
became only the fifth North Carolina wrestler to win Senior Nationals and earn
the title Senior National Champion. Roddy's
appearance in the finals almost marked the first time that a North Carolina
program put wrestlers in the finals in back-to-back years.
Coach Atwood and the
Parkland program head into the 2012-13 season with a 266 match dual win-streak.
Coach Atwood is a
two-time Retrorankings.com Coach of the Year (2010 & 2011), a five-time Matnews Coach of the Year (2007, 2008, & 2009 for 3A;
2010 & 2011 in 4A), and will be inducted into the Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County Sports Hall of Fame on May 4th.
Prior to becoming Head
Coach at Parkland, Coach Atwood spent one year as Head Coach at Forsyth Country
Day filling in for Pat Rimron, a friend of Coach
Atwood’s who had been called to active duty in the War on Terror, as well as
spending three seasons as Co-Head Coach with Jason Hooker at Mount Tabor, where
their 2000-01 team won the 4A State Tournament and State Dual Championships.
Coach Atwood started off
his coaching career as an Assistant Coach under Steve Hayes at Mount Tabor
where he spent five seasons before taking a two year hiatus. Coach Atwood
returned to the sport as an Assistant Coach at R.J. Reynolds where he stayed
for four seasons.
As a competitor, Coach
Atwood wrestled for R.J. Reynolds High School, Wilkes Community College, and
Carson Newman.
Head Coaching Record
|
Year |
Program |
Record |
Accomplishments |
|
2000-01 |
Mount Tabor |
28-0 |
4A State Dual &
Tournament Champions |
|
2001-02 |
Mount Tabor |
21-3 |
4A State Tournament
Runners-Up |
|
2002-03 |
Forsyth Country Day |
29-4 |
Third Place at NCISAA
State Tournament |
|
2003-04 |
Mount Tabor |
17-13 |
Qualified for State
Dual Playoffs |
|
2004-05 |
Parkland |
28-8 |
Qualified for State
Dual Playoffs |
|
2005-06 |
Parkland |
42-3 |
Conference Champions,
Regional Runners-Up |
|
2006-07 |
Parkland |
46-0 |
3A State Dual &
Tournament Champions |
|
2007-08 |
Parkland |
44-0 |
3A State Dual &
Tournament Champions |
|
2008-09 |
Parkland |
43-0 |
3A State Dual &
Tournament Champions |
|
2009-10 |
Parkland |
42-0 |
4A State Dual
& Tournament Champions |
|
2010-11 |
Parkland |
41-0 |
4A State Dual
& Tournament Champions |
|
2011-12 |
Parkland |
50-0 |
4A State Dual
Champions |
Asst. Coaching Career
|
Year |
Program |
Record |
|
1989-90 |
Mount Tabor |
12-4-1 |
|
1990-91 |
Mount Tabor |
19-2-1 |
|
1991-92 |
Mount Tabor |
14-5 |
|
1992-93 |
Mount Tabor |
21-1-1 |
|
1993-94 |
Mount Tabor |
13-4 |
|
1994-95 |
Did Not Coach |
N/A |
|
1995-96 |
Did Not Coach |
N/A |
|
1996-97 |
R.J. Reynolds |
5-13 |
|
1997-98 |
R.J. Reynolds |
14-13 |
|
1998-99 |
R.J. Reynolds |
20-4 |
|
1999-2000 |
R.J. Reynolds |
29-6 |